


A Gebrovklian Fairy Tale

by okayokayigive



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 04:13:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1102265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okayokayigive/pseuds/okayokayigive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose wins a bet with the Doctor. Her prize? A bedtime story. But nothing is ever quite what it seems. Fluff and a little angst and H/C.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Gebrovklian Fairy Tale

**Author's Note:**

> For mydearladydisdain-beatrice at Tumblr, who requested Nine/Rose, ” stormy night, rose is lost and finding that strange blue box as only lifesaver” for 2013’s DW Secret Santa. Written (while on holiday in London) just for you! Hope you enjoy. :) 
> 
> Note: my headcanon, relevant to this story, is that Nine is a big bucket of squish when it comes to Rose. You know, as long as no else is around.

"It was a dark and stormy night…"

"What? You can’t start a story like that. It’s cheesy."

"You want to tell the story, then?"

"Oh, no. I won the bet, so I get you, in my bed, telling me a bedtime story. It’s not you telling me a story if  _I’m_  the one telling it.”

"Well, then, shush and let me tell it."

 

Rose rolled her eyes, but did as he asked, snuggling into his shoulder and reveling in the feeling of his voice rumbling through his chest as he began to speak.

—

_It was a dark and stormy night on the planet Gebrovk, flashes of pink and purple lightning the only breaks in the darkness as Rose Tyler, our fair heroine, ducked into the tree line. Taking advantage of a burst of light, she scanned the horizon, noting nothing but the flat, shapeless lands of the Gebrovklian prairie._

_With a sigh, she turned, sprinting into the trees, arms braced up and in front to keep branches from scratching her pretty face._

—

"What was she running  _from_ , Doctor?”

He stopped stroking her hair for a moment - and wondered idly when he had _started_  stroking her hair - to glare down at her, a hint of storm brewing in otherwise highly amused eyes.

"S’not important. Now do you want your story, or not?"

Rose pressed her lips together and nodded for him to continue.

—

_Rose ran and ran until her breath was gone, pausing only long enough to scan the landscape ahead before moving on. She searched for a sign of safety, of home - a flash of blue, a glimpse of a leather jacket, the creak of a wooden door._

_As she rounded the corner around a particularly large grouping of trees, she saw it at last - and froze when she heard the telltale creak of steps behind her. She judged the distance between herself and the TARDIS, cautiously fingering the chain around her neck. She might make it to the door, but she’d never get the key in the lock in time to make it safely inside._

_Easing sideways into the shadows, Rose hoped that a quick dash in the opposite direction would keep her from being followed. She took a deep breath and counted down: 3…2…1… Rose ran faster and harder than before, relying on pure sensory input and instinct to keep her from hitting trees and bushes or stumbling over rocks and dead branches._

_When she opened her eyes a few minutes later, the light of the storm showed her that she was completely and utterly lost. The trees were a different color here, the moss an unfamiliar shape…even the lightning was now more green than pink or purple._

_But at last, at least, she was alone. She hoped._

_Rose listened silently for a few long minutes before deciding it was as quiet as it was going to get. A bell in the distance tolled the end of the storm, a service to let the villagers know that they had little time left to harness precious energy from the storm._

_This, she decided, looking up at the large tree to her left, would be a decent place to spend the night. She would find the Doctor and the TARDIS with the help of daylight. As she crawled under the branches of the welcoming tree, Rose heard exactly what she’d been fearing - the telltale crush of sticks and leaves under the weight of her follower._

_Grabbing what she hoped was a very sharp rock in one hand, Rose stood and turned toward the noise. “I’m no threat to you, who- or what-ever you are. Now show yourself, and let’s try to work this out, yeah?”_

_Crunch. One step._

_Creak. Another._

_Snap. One more._

_And Rose found herself face to face with—_

—

The Doctor trailed off, kissing Rose lightly on the forehead as she began to snore. “Another time, then, love. Another time.”

He slid himself out of her grasp, careful not to wake her, and covered her with his leather coat. “To keep you safe until you find the TARDIS again.”

—~—

He gasped and bolted upright, quickly scanning his surroundings.

Rose , still unconscious from a run-in with a nasty Peguicallis. Rose, still connected to wires so the TARDIS can monitor her condition. So the TARDIS can keep her alive.

The Doctor wondered if they’d been dream-sharing, the way he and Koschei had as boys at the Academy, or if he’d conjured that story all on his own.

He decided it didn’t matter. He’d tell her all the fairy tales and stories she wanted, if only she’d come back to him.

"Oh, my precious girl. Have I ever told you about Zagreus?


End file.
